Two Hoots and A Holler

Hoot #1

This hoot is all about worms!! This week, as we were doing an overview of all things Spring, and our kinders took a special interest when we talked about worms.  So we made a special day of it!  This was an exciting day for all of us.
 Ms. Jamie's Jitterbugs LOVED worm day, they were telling everyone all about it!

 Before they saw their worms, each child made a worm hat.  they were asked to give their worm a name just as their parents gave them a name.  This was going to be their "baby" for the day. We placed the name that they gave their worm on their hat. Next, they created their worm habitat using moist dirt.  The dirt was easy to find since our school is next to field of soybeans and the farmers had just finished tilling the field for planting.

Next the worms came out!! We bought some from a local bait shop.  The children got to come up and pick the worm that they thought fit the name that they had given.  
Some of them really thought about this before choosing.

This sweetie was so thrilled her worm loved the habitat that she had created for it.  
She said "We have to get a picture of this!"

We wrote stories about our worms.

 My favorite area was the discovery center! These kids literally amazed us!!  In this area, they observed their worm in its habitat.  When I saw this, I had grab this pic.  They were comparing their worms! I loved listening to their conversation!

 After they observed the worm in their habitat, they were able to take the worm out and put it on the plate to take a closer look at the worm.  Some chose to use the big plastic tweezers that we purchased from Dollar Tree.  Others just dug in with their fingers! Once their worm was out, they used magnifying glasses to get a closer look.  They illustrated their findings and wrote about things that they found interesting about their worm.

They also measure their worm and recorded their findings.

Finally, at the end of our day, we released our worms back to their original home and thanked them being a part of our day!

Ms. Jamie was on a mission to get some of that Delta Dirt for her worms!  When I saw her out there digging from my window, I immediate wondered what her husband had done now!  LOL, I am kidding, but I did ask him.  I had to get a picture of her digging in the field.  It is not something you see everyday!  She doesn't know I added this to the blog post yet. . .hopefully she will find it as funny as I do! 

Hoot #2
Unfortunately, worms FREAK Ms. Jodi out!!  So her class ended their space unit by visiting and learning from a 5th grade class.  Our 5th graders had just finished making their space projects, so it was perfect timing for us!  We paired up a 5th grade student with a kindergarten student, and we practiced a lot of speaking and listening skills!  The 5th graders LOVED being the "teacher" and talking to the younger kids.  It was great to see them interacting together!  It is so funny because now the 5th grade class and the kindergarten class are BFF's!  
When they see each other at lunch, they have to hug and say hello!  

 
Both classes ended the day by having an Ice Cream Sundae Party!  We finished our end of the year state testing, and all of our kindergarteners tried their best! Every student showed so much growth from the beginning of the year until now!  We are so proud of each and every one of them!  They worked hard to earn this treat...they deserved it!  

This Week's Holler. . .
Our Holler this week goes out to Holly Ehle from the blog, Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections.  This lady has simply amazed us with her enthusiasm and drive!  We were invited to her Spring Blogger Meetup, where we spent a weekend with some of the most talented teachers and bloggers.  The way that she brought so many educators together for this fun celebration was simply amazing.  Her blog is  full of wonderful ideas for new and seasoned teachers.  She is a double "H" threat! lol  She is Helpful and Humble.  From the first time we met her, it felt like we were talking to a friend that we had known for years.  You WANT to visit her blog and check out her TPT store!!

Holly Ehle, We think you ROCK!!

Two Hoots and a Holler!

Hoot#1 

Last week we had a Sensory Night at our school.  Students and parents were invited to attend.  This was a workshop for parents to understand how sensory systems develop and impact behavior and learning.  Strategies for parents to use at home and school were introduced to them.  There were stations set up around our gym to give the parents a hands-on experience. Our Title I teacher did an awesome job of organizing this event, and WES staff rocks for lending a helping hand!

While parents were listening to a presentation, the children were having snack and making his/her own glitter calming bottle.  This was right up our alley…I mean just look at all that glitter! I'm sure the maintenance staff was not impressed, glitter was EVERYWHERE!!  But it was so worth it!  Students were bringing his/her bottle to school the next day to show everyone.   

The class with the most attendance in kindergarten through second grade would win a gift certificate to The Sensory Shop in Southaven, MS.  Ms. Jodi’s Rockstars won!  I was so excited to receive this gift certificate!  I can’t wait to go purchase a lot of cool things for my classroom!  Thanks to Walls PTA, The Sensory Shop, and the Rockstars!! 

Hoot #2

A few weeks ago the Amazon “deal of the day” was the Selfie Stick with Bluetooth capability.  We immediately ordered them, and they finally came in last week!  
 We are so excited to have these FINALLY!!   Thanks to Amy Alvis over at "Math, Science, Social, Studies. . .OH MY!" for letting everyone know it was on sale!

This Week’s Holler

This week’s holler goes out to Stacy Simpson at Simpson's Superstars!  Meeting this lady was one of our favorite treats at the Spring Meet up.  She is enthusiastic and has loads of sparkle and spunk.  This girl has a ton of ideas of her blog.  We love her latest post, "Monday, Made it". 

Be sure to check her out! 

Yea, we got a little crazy!  We will blame it on the sugar!

 (I see a Mountain Dew in front of Jamie!)

 Ok! Normal pic after the treats wore off!

Two Hoots and a Holler

Hoot #1

This weeks hoot is all about our special guests that visited our room.  Not only did Fiskars visit our class but they brought goodies for everyone. Believe me when I tell you, it felt like Christmas.  Every student was given a pencil sharpener and a pair of scissors. For being named Teacher of the Year, Fiskars presented me with a beautiful, very large
 basket. 

 

 

I even got a pair of my favorite scissors!  Some of you may remember I gave them away as my teacher tool at the Spring Meet-up! I can promise, you will never have another cramp or blister again!  These scissors are amazing!  Big Thanks to Sutton Holcomb, John Rawisky and Fiskars!

Hoot #2
This goes out to this sweet lady that has been subbing for one of our intervention assistants who has been out on extended leave.  She comes to our room daily to work with students that need a little extra help.  Wednesday was her last day.  As a hobby she plays the Celtic harp all over the United States.  As a farewell present, she brought her harp and played for our classes.  Our students have never seen a harp before.  They loved it! What a special gift to give to our students!

 

Holler

This weeks holler goes out to Amanda Pauley at Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten.  Boy, did we love meeting her at the Spring Teacher Meet-up!  She is full of energy and loves being a life long learner.  She recently did a unit with her class on dinosaurs.  We are absolutely in love with all of the exciting activities that she did with this theme, and she even incorporated other grades within her school to learn and work with her students. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that!!  Amanda has all sorts of topics that she has covered in her blog that could reach any teacher's need.  Be sure to stop by her blog to see all of the wonderful things that she is doing!  Great job, Mrs. Pauley!!

   

Two Hoots and A Holler!

Hoot#1

Ok, so we are plastic bin addicts!  We get super excited over cute little plastic bins.  We purchase them all the time, not even knowing what we are going to use them for, but we get them just because they are so irresistible …I’m sure most of you can relate to us on that.  We found these plastic bins at Dollar General, and they are PERFECT for holding different writing tools at the writing center and word work center.  Not only are they perfect, they are really cute!! 

We found these at Dollar Tree, they are soap holders. They come two to a pack.  We use these to hold decks of cards for students to use in math tubs.  We also thought these could be used for a miniature version of the glue sponges that The Kindergarten Smorgasboard uses in his classroom.   

Hoot #2

This week is the induction of students into the Beta Club.  At our school this is a group of 4th and 5th grade students who have maintained a B average or higher in all subject areas.  These students have participated in service projects.  They have exhibited leadership through these projects and outstanding behavior. These are our Jitterbugs and Rock Stars that were a part of our kindergarten class! We are true believers that we do not just teach children for one year and then we are done.  We want to be there to see them achieve their goals throughout their entire life! We can't wait to see how these young minds are going to change the world for the better!

This Week’s Holler

This week’s holler Brandy Withers from Firstie Kidoodles. We met her at the Spring Teacher Blogger Meetup this year. She has some cute dogs and a beautiful family. Kinder Glitter Girls really likes her "Ordinal Numbers with Blind Mice".  It incorporates reading and math activities and it's FREE!! She has a ton of resources for primary teachers on her blog and her TPT store.  Head over and check her out!

Two Hoots and A Holler!

Hoot #1

Our first hoot deserves a big ole HOOT! HOOT!  We just recently learned that the 6 snow days we had this year were forgiven for the students!  That means students will not have to make up the days we missed due to snow.  AHHHHHH! Just think of all the possibilities . . .no more Saturday School, two days off for Easter, and no school after Memorial Day.  This was great news for everyone!  Now we will wait to see if they are forgiven for teachers as well!

Hoot #2

This week is bittersweet for us.  We began our 4^th Nine Weeks of the year.  This means we are almost at the end of the year!  YIKES!!  The end of the year is a mixture of emotions for us.   It means a lot of craziness to get things done before the year is up; it means tears because our time is almost up with our kiddos; it means tears of joy because our kiddos will finally get to show how much they have grown this year;  it means joy because summer is drawing near for us to get some much needed time off.  

This Week’s Holler

This week’s holler goes out to Emily Peden! After our post about field trip to the Orpheum, we learned that this awesome teacher is just a 30 minute drive from us!! Emily teaches in Memphis at an inner city school.  A majority of her students are African refugees.  How awesome is that! Since Emily is the only kindergarten class at her school, she began blogging to form her personal support group.  Kinder Glitter Girls loves Emily’s latest post on the book talk that she is currently doing, Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites.  We have also been reading the same book and have really enjoyed it. Check out her blog and see all the ways that she is using manipulatives in her class! We can’t to meet up with Emily!